Chan's confession came after his DNA was found to match samples found in Ms Wylde's flat.

Mr Mukherjee asked: "If this guy was not caught what would have happened to me in the next 10 years?

"I would have died and gone to my grave and been called a murderer."

'Deepest grief'

He now wants to know why a forensic sample which he gave four years ago was not enough to clear his name.

Mr Mukherjee said: "I expected a result in two months. If the DNA didn't match they should have taken me off the hook at that point in time.

"Why did it take so long? That will be my deepest grief until the day I die."

The businessman had no direct contact with Police Scotland but was told to attend his local police station once a week.

He also said he was still taking "heavy medication" due to the stress of the case.

Mr Mukherjee added: "I could not sleep and used to lie on my bed with my eyes open and think: 'What the hell happened to me'?"

He said he had not attended any family occasions in recent years. "I am always alone in the house."

Image caption
Ms Wylde's sister, Bernadette McCash, said the family were disappointed by the sentence

Mr Mukherjee was only officially notified that he had been exonerated on 1 May when he received a letter from India's Department for External Affairs.

But he said he was still waiting for local police to return his passport.

"I could not come out of the depression, even when I got the news, because you think: 'Why did it take them so long to understand I was not a criminal?'

"Now I am slowly recovering but I don't know how I am going to financially cover myself for the loss of this five years and what I have gone through.

"Who is going to be responsible for covering the financial damage?"

As the real killer begins his life sentence the businessman said his thoughts were with Ms Wylde's loved ones.

He added: "I am deeply sorry for the loss to their family and that a daughter has grown up without a mother.

"God is there and justice was done for that girl."

A Crown Office spokesman said: "Careful consideration is given to any reports of alleged criminal conduct which are submitted by the police.

"Action will be taken if the reports contain sufficient evidence of a crime and it is in the public interest to do so.

"It is the duty of the Crown to keep cases under review and following full consideration of the facts and circumstances of the case Crown Counsel instructed that there should be no further proceedings against Sougat Mukherjee."